JP2009185743A - Intake duct for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow smooth deformation of a wall part, when large external force is applied to the wall part. <P>SOLUTION: This intake duct D1 for a vehicle is provided by defining an air-flowable air flowing passage 30 between a first wall part 36 and a second wall part 38 opposed to this first wall part 36. The intake duct D1 for the vehicle has a support part 40 projecting toward the second wall part 38 on an inner surface of the first wall part 36, and a receiving part 50 arranged in the second wall part 38 and supporting the support part 40 by an inclined face 50a. The intake duct D1 for the vehicle is expansively opened and deformed by guiding respective fractions 40a of the support part 40 by the inclined face 50a when the support part 40 ruptures in a fragile part 42 when the large external force is applied to the first wall part 36. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle air duct that guides air to an engine.

  As shown in FIG. 9, external air introduced from a vehicle intake duct DC is supplied to an engine EG mounted on a vehicle body 10 of an automobile via an air cleaner AC (for example, Patent Document 1). The vehicle intake duct DC is made of synthetic resin molded by injection molding or blow molding, and an air flow passage 20 is defined by an upper wall portion 22 and a lower wall portion 24 facing each other (FIG. 10). And FIG. 11). Further, the vehicle intake duct DC is formed in a bent shape in the middle, and is provided with a horizontally long flat air intake 26 at one end in the longitudinal direction of the air flow passage 20 and substantially rectangular at the other end in the longitudinal direction. Air outlet 28 is provided. The vehicle intake duct DC is attached to the upper surface of the radiator support 16 at the front portion thereof by means of attachment means BL such as bolts, and air is introduced into the gap S between the engine hood 14 and the radiator support 16 that closes the engine room 12. It arrange | positions so that the inlet 26 may face.

The vehicle intake duct DC has a low rigidity due to a reduction in thickness due to a reduction in weight, and particularly a reduction in rigidity of a front portion formed in a flat shape is remarkable. Accordingly, in the vehicle intake duct DC, the upper wall portion 22 and the lower wall portion 24 may be deformed due to the negative pressure of the air flow passage 20 when the engine EG is driven or the softening due to the temperature rise in the engine room 12. . In the vehicle intake duct DC, the front portion having low rigidity is likely to be deformed, and if the cross-sectional area of the air intake port 26 is reduced due to deformation of the upper wall portion 22 or the lower wall portion 24, there is a problem that air cannot be sufficiently taken in. appear. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the vehicle intake duct DC supports the upper wall portion 22 and the lower wall portion 22 by supporting the upper wall portion 22 from the inside with a columnar support portion 29 provided on the lower wall portion 24. The deformation of the wall portion 24 is prevented.
JP 2004-308453 A

  In recent years, establishment of safety measures regarding pedestrian protection has been demanded, and when a pedestrian collides, the vehicle body is appropriately deformed to absorb the impact. For this reason, the engine hood 14 is configured to be easily deformed downward by an impact force when a pedestrian collides. Further, the vehicle intake duct DC located directly under the engine hood 14 is required to be smoothly deformed as the engine hood 14 is deformed and not to inhibit the deformation of the engine hood 14.

  Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 12, the vehicle intake duct DC is configured to allow deformation of the upper wall portion 22 by deforming the support portion 29 when an external force is applied from above. . However, in the vehicle intake duct DC, as the support portion 29 is deformed, the repulsive force acting so as to inhibit the deformation gradually increases, and the deformation of the upper wall portion 22 may still be obstructed.

  That is, the present invention has been proposed in order to suitably solve these problems inherent in the conventional air duct for vehicles, and when a large external force is applied to the wall portion, the present invention has been proposed. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle air duct capable of allowing a smoother deformation of a wall portion.

In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and achieve the intended object, an air duct for a vehicle according to claim 1 of the present application comprises:
In the vehicle intake duct that defines an air flow passage through which air can flow between the first wall portion and the second wall portion facing the first wall portion,
A plate-like support portion provided on the inner surface of the first wall portion so as to extend in an annular shape and projecting toward the second wall portion;
A receiving portion that is provided on the second wall portion so as to protrude toward the first wall portion, and that contacts the support portion;
The receiving portion has an inclined surface that guides the end portion on the second wall portion side of the support portion to expand when the support portion is displaced toward the second wall portion side,
The support portion has a fragile portion that is broken by the guide of the inclined surface and allows the expansion deformation of the support portion, or a slit that allows the deformation of the support portion by the guide of the inclined surface. .
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 1, a support part is supported by a receiving part at the time of normal use, and can deform | transform a 1st wall part and a 2nd wall part. And when a big external force is added to a wall part, a 1st wall part is deform | transformed smoothly by deform | transforming so that a support part may be guided by the inclined surface of a receiving part, and it may expand.

The gist of the invention according to claim 2 is that the support portion is provided in an annular shape extending in the longitudinal direction along the air flow direction of the air flow passage.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the air flowing through the air flow passage is guided by the support portion whose length extends along the air flow direction of the air flow passage, thereby preventing the occurrence of turbulence and drift. Can be suppressed.

The gist of the invention according to claim 3 is that the fragile portion is thinly formed in a groove shape extending from the first wall portion side to the second wall portion side of the support portion.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the support portion displaced toward the second wall portion is guided by the inclined surface, and the support portion is divided by the groove-like weak portion to form a plurality of pieces, whereby the support portion It becomes easy to expand and deform.

In the invention which concerns on Claim 4, the said support part is provided with the opening part in the site | part located in the air flow direction rear side in the said air flow path, The space enclosed by the support part and the receiving part, and air circulation The gist is that the road is configured to communicate with the opening through the opening.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 4, the engine noise which leaks from an air intake port by space can be reduced.

  According to the vehicle intake duct according to the present invention, the support portion is supported by the receiving portion during normal use, and deformation of the first wall portion and the second wall portion can be prevented. And when a 1st wall part deform | transforms with a big external force being added, since a support part is guided to the inclined surface of a receiving part and deform | transforms, smooth deformation | transformation of a 1st wall part is accept | permitted.

  Next, a preferred embodiment of the vehicle intake duct according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the front-rear direction is designated in the air flow direction of the air flow passage in the vehicle intake duct, the air intake side is the front side, and the air delivery port side is the rear side. Further, when the vehicle intake duct is installed in the vehicle body, the lateral direction perpendicular to the air flow direction of the vehicle intake duct is referred to as the left-right direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle intake duct D1 (hereinafter simply referred to as “first duct”) according to the first embodiment is a cylindrical body having both ends opened, and an air flow passage 30 is defined therein. Has been. The first duct D1 is formed in a flat shape with a front portion extending in the left-right direction, provided with an air intake port 32 having a horizontally wide flat shape, and a rear portion formed in a substantially rectangular shape. A shaped air outlet 34 is provided. Further, the first duct D1 is bent to the side (right side of the vehicle body 10 in the first embodiment) in the front-rear direction from the air intake port 32 to the air delivery port 34, and bent from the air intake port 32. The part is flat. On the other hand, as the first duct D1 moves from the bent portion toward the air delivery port 34, the size in the left-right direction is reduced and the size in the vertical direction is increased. And the 1st duct D1 is fixed by the attachment means BL in the state which faced the front side part in the clearance gap S between the radiator support 16 and the engine hood 14 which are front side vehicle body structural parts of the engine room 12 (FIG. 2).

  The first duct D1 has an air flow path formed by a first wall portion 36 located on the upper side when installed on the vehicle body 10 and a second wall portion 38 provided on the lower side facing the first wall portion 36. 30 upper and lower sides are defined. In addition, the 1st duct D1 is comprised by joining the 1st wall part 36 and the 2nd wall part 38 which were shape | molded separately. The first duct D <b> 1 includes a rectifying unit 39 that guides air flowing through the air flow passage 30. The rectifying portion 39 is provided on the inner surface of the first wall portion 36 facing the second wall portion 38, and is provided on the second wall portion 38 so as to face the support portion 40 to support the support portion 40. It is comprised with the receiving part 50. FIG.

  The rectifying unit 39 is formed along the air flow direction of the air flow passage 30 in the first duct D <b> 1 and is configured to be located at the center of the air flow passage 30. Further, the rectifying unit 39 has a length extending along the air flow direction (see FIG. 1). Further, in the air flow passage 30, the rectifying unit 39 has a front arc-shaped front part arranged in a front part adjacent to the air intake port 32 and a rear part arranged behind the bent part. That is, the rectifying unit 39 is configured to be bent in accordance with the bent shape of the first duct D1.

  The support portion 40 is a plate-like body provided on the inner surface of the first wall portion 36 and projects vertically from the inner surface of the first wall portion 36 toward the second wall portion 38. The support portion 40 is provided so as to extend annularly along the inner surface of the first wall portion 36, and the support portion 40 constitutes the upper portion of the rectifying portion 39. More specifically, the support portion 40 extends in an arc shape in plan view so that the interval between the opposing portions in the support portion 40 decreases as it moves from the front side to the rear side in the air flow direction. Exist. That is, the support part 40 is continuously provided in the shape of teardrops whose length extends along the air flow direction of the air flow passage 30 as a whole. The support portion 40 is integrally formed simultaneously with the formation of the first wall portion 36.

  The support portion 40 is provided with a plurality of groove-like fragile portions 42 spaced apart from each other (see FIG. 1). Each weak part 42 is provided from the part connected to the inner surface of the first wall part 36 in the support part 40 to the front end facing the second wall part 38. Each weak part 42 has a surface facing the inner region of the support part 40, and is formed thinner than the general thickness of the support part 40 excluding the weak part 42. It is weaker than the part. In addition, the outer surface facing the air flow passage 30 in the support portion 40 is formed smoothly. And when the support part 40 is displaced with the deformation | transformation to the 2nd wall part 38 side in the 1st wall part 36, the edge part by the side of the 2nd wall part 38 in the support part 40, and the inclined surface of the receiving part 50 Each of the fragile portions 42 breaks under the contact with 50a, so that they are separated into a plurality of pieces 40a to be expanded and deformed. Here, the expansion deformation of the support portion 40 is that the end portion of the support portion 40 on the second wall portion 38 side is guided by the inclined surface 50 a of the receiving portion 50, and the support portion 40 on the first wall portion 36 side. This means that the support portion 40 is deformed from the inside to the outside of the region surrounded by the support portion 40 that extends in a ring shape with the connection portion as a fulcrum.

  The support portion 40 is provided with an opening 44 that communicates the inner region surrounded by the support portion 40 and the air flow passage 30 at a portion located on the rear side in the air flow direction (see FIG. 1). ). The opening 44 opens toward the rear side in the air flow direction and faces the air outlet 34 in the first duct D1.

  The receiving portion 50 is formed at the portion of the second wall portion 38 facing the support portion 40 so as to protrude toward the first wall portion 36 and constitutes the lower portion of the rectifying portion 39. The receiving part 50 protrudes so that the top part 50b is located inside the area surrounded by the support part 40 and the part connected to the second wall part 38 is located outside the area surrounded by the support part 40. It is formed in a mountain shape (see FIG. 3). That is, in the receiving part 50, the inclined surface 50a is arrange | positioned facing the lower side of the support part 40, and the support part 40 is contact | abutting to the inclined surface 50a. In addition, the inclined surface 50a of the receiving portion 50 is inclined with respect to the support portion 40 in a direction (lower side) away from the first wall portion 36 from the inside to the outside of the region surrounded by the support portion 40. Formed as follows. Here, the receiving part 50 is provided with the second wall part 38 by recessing the second wall part 38 toward the first wall part 36 so that the outer side of the second wall part 38 corresponding to the receiving part 50 is recessed. It is integrally molded. That is, as for the receiving part 50, the inclined surface 50a and the top part 50b are comprised by the plate-shaped part. In addition, the planar view shape of the receiving part 50 corresponds to the extended shape of the support part 40, while the front side part becomes circular arc shape, and the space | interval of the inclined surface 50a which opposes in the receiving part 50 as it goes to the rear side from the front side. The shape is reduced.

  In the first duct D1, the tip of the support portion 40 and the inclined surface 50a of the receiving portion 50 are always in contact with each other, and the hollow space surrounded by the first wall portion 36, the supporting portion 40 and the receiving portion 50 is silenced. It functions as the unit 54 (see FIG. 3). The muffler 54 communicates with the air flow passage 30 through the opening 44 provided in the support 40. The silencer 54 attenuates the noise generated by the engine EG incident through the opening 44 provided on the downstream side of the air flow passage 30 in a hollow space, thereby leaking from the air intake 32. The noise from is reduced. Here, in the first duct D1, since the opening portion 44 is provided on the rear side of the support portion 40 and opens toward the rear side in the air circulation direction, the air flowing through the air flow passage 30 is opened in the opening portion 44. The air is not taken into the muffler 54 via the air, and the air flows smoothly through the air flow passage 30.

  According to the vehicle air intake duct D of the first embodiment, the air intake port 32 is flattened by guiding the air sucked from the air intake port 32 by the rectifying unit 39 provided in the air flow passage 30. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of air turbulence and drift caused by bending the flow passage 30 or changing the cross-sectional shape of the air flow passage 30. In addition, the first duct D1 is configured so that the first wall 36 and the second wall 38 are softened by the negative pressure of the air flow passage 30 and the temperature rise in the engine room 12 when the engine EG is driven. The support part 40 of the part 36 is supported by the receiving part 50, and the deformation of the first wall part 36 and the second wall part 38 is prevented. That is, the first duct D1 can secure the cross-sectional area of the air flow passage 30 in a normal use state, and can appropriately supply air to the engine EG.

  The first duct D1 is supported in accordance with the deformation of the first wall portion 36 when the first wall portion 36 is pressed by the deformation of the engine hood 14, for example, when an object collides with the engine hood 14. The portion 40 is displaced downward, and the end portion of the support portion 40 is guided along the inclined surface 50a. At this time, a force is applied to the support portion 40 toward the air flow passage 30 side by being guided by the inclined surface 50a, and the weak portion 42 is broken, whereby the support portion 40 is divided into a plurality of pieces 40a. It becomes possible to expand each piece 40a. The support part 40 is easily expanded and deformed by being divided into a plurality of pieces 40a, and each piece 40a is deformed along the inclined surface 50a of the receiving part 50 as shown in FIG. The downward displacement of the first wall portion 36 is allowed.

  Thus, according to the 1st duct D1, the support part 40 which is displaced downward with the displacement of the 1st wall part 36 is guided to the inclined surface 50a of the receiving part 50 in the state fractured | ruptured by the weak part 42 and divided | segmented. To be deformed properly. Further, after the fragile portion 42 is broken, the repulsive force of the receiving portion 50 is not applied until the first wall portion 36 comes into contact with the receiving portion 50, and the first wall portion 36 is allowed to be smoothly deformed. In the first duct D1, when the deformation of the first wall portion 36 proceeds and the first wall portion 36 comes into contact with the top portion 50b of the receiving portion 50, the outside of the receiving portion 50 becomes a hollow portion. As shown in FIG. 4B, the deformation of the first wall portion 36 is further permitted by the deformation of the plate-like receiving portion 50 itself. Thus, the deformation | transformation stroke of the 1st wall part 36 can be earned by changing the receiving part 50 also.

  The vehicle intake duct (hereinafter simply referred to as “second duct”) D2 according to the second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 has the same basic configuration as that of the first embodiment. Therefore, in the description of the second duct D2, the same components as those of the first duct D1 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and only different portions will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the second duct D <b> 2, the support portion 40 is formed with a slit 46 that communicates the inner region surrounded by the support portion 40 and the air flow passage 30 on the outer side thereof. Each slit 46 is formed such that a slit opening 46b facing the air flow passage 30 outside the slit opening 46a facing the inner region surrounded by the support portion 40 is located on the rear side in the air flow direction. As shown in FIG. 6, the slit 46 of the second embodiment extends linearly across the plate thickness direction of the support portion 40 obliquely, and the support portion 40 is divided into a plurality of pieces 40 a by the slit 46. ing. Thus, by setting the positional relationship between the openings 46 a and 46 b in the slit 46, it becomes difficult for air to flow through the slit 46 to the inner region surrounded by the support portion 40. That is, even if the slit 46 penetrating the support portion 40 is employed as a means for facilitating the deformation of the support portion 40, the influence on the flow of air flowing through the air flow passage 30 can be minimized. And since the support part 40 is isolate | separated by the slit 46, the support part 40 becomes easy to deform | transform compared with the 1st duct D1.

(Example of change)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the following configurations can be employed.
(1) As shown in FIG. 7A, a locking portion 52 formed in a step shape on the inclined surface 50a so as to have a flat upper surface is provided at a portion of the receiving portion 50 that contacts the support portion 40 of the inclined surface 50a. It may be provided. In addition, as shown in FIG. 7B, the locking portion 52 may be provided at a portion where the angle of the inclined surface 50a changes in the receiving portion 50 where the angle of the inclined surface 50a changes midway.
(2) The slit 46 described in the second embodiment may be configured to extend like a bowl as shown in FIG.
(3) The space surrounded by the support portion and the receiving portion may be filled with a foam such as deformable glass wool or urethane foam as a sound absorbing material. By filling the sound absorbing material, noise in a wide frequency band can be attenuated.
(4) A structure in which a support part or a receiving part molded separately is joined to a corresponding wall part can also be adopted.
(5) In Example 1, although the example which forms thinly in a groove shape as a weak part was given, the through-hole or the groove | channel is formed in dotted line shape toward the 2nd wall part side from the 1st wall part side in a support part. The weak part which weakened the support part by this may be sufficient.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a vehicle intake duct according to a preferred embodiment 1 of the present invention, with a part thereof broken away. It is the XX sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the YY sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the case where an external force is added to the 1st wall part of a vehicle intake duct, Comprising: (a) shows the state at the time of a deformation | transformation start of a support part, (b) shows the 1st wall part. The state which contact | abutted to the receiving part and the deformation | transformation advanced further is shown. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a partially broken intake duct for a vehicle according to a second embodiment. In the vehicle air intake duct of Example 2, it is a plane sectional view showing a slit provided in a support part. It is sectional drawing which shows the vehicle intake duct which concerns on the example of a change, Comprising: The receiving part of (a) is an example which provided the step-shaped latching | locking part with the flat upper surface on the inclined surface, The receiving part of (b) Shows an example in which the support portion is supported at a portion where the angle changes on an inclined surface formed by combining surfaces having different angles. It is a plane sectional view showing a slit concerning a modification. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the inside of an engine room in a vehicle. FIG. 10 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the conventional vehicle intake duct illustrated in FIG. 9. It is the sectional side view which showed the state which assembled | attached the conventional vehicle intake duct to the vehicle front side in the state before a deformation | transformation of an engine hood. It is the sectional side view which showed the state which assembled | attached the conventional vehicle intake duct on the vehicle front side in the state to which the external force accompanying the deformation | transformation of an engine hood was added.

Explanation of symbols

30 air flow path, 36 1st wall part, 38 2nd wall part, 40 support part, 42 weak part,
46 slit, 50 receiving part, 50a inclined surface

Claims (4)

In the vehicle intake duct that defines an air flow passage through which air can flow between the first wall portion and the second wall portion facing the first wall portion,
A plate-like support portion provided on the inner surface of the first wall portion so as to extend in an annular shape and projecting toward the second wall portion;
A receiving portion that is provided on the second wall portion so as to protrude toward the first wall portion, and that contacts the support portion;
The receiving portion has an inclined surface that guides the end portion on the second wall portion side of the support portion to expand when the support portion is displaced toward the second wall portion side,
The support portion has a fragile portion that is broken by the guide of the inclined surface and allows the expansion deformation of the support portion, or a slit that allows the deformation of the support portion by the guide of the inclined surface. Intake duct for vehicles.   The vehicle intake duct according to claim 1, wherein the support portion is provided in an annular shape having a longitudinal extension along an air flow direction of the air flow passage.   3. The vehicle intake duct according to claim 1, wherein the fragile portion is thinly formed in a groove shape extending from the first wall portion side to the second wall portion side of the support portion.   The support portion is provided with an opening at a portion located on the rear side in the air flow direction in the air flow passage, and a space surrounded by the support portion and the receiving portion and the air flow passage are interposed through the opening. The vehicle intake duct according to claim 3, wherein the vehicle intake duct is configured to communicate with each other.

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